Nostalgia
by Revolutionary Venom
Summary: As Jack and Ianto move into a new flat, Jack muses on what his life has been. Janto of course!


Ianto came in from the pouring rain, half-expecting Jack to be hiding somewhere in their new flat.

As of late, it wasn't too unusual to find the infamous Captain Jack Harkness home before Ianto was; ever since the two had finally gotten their own flat, Jack seemed to be leaving the Hub earlier than before. Of course, that was also thanks to the program Tosh had finally perfected that would help detect Rift energy spikes, allowing everyone to go home at decent hours.

But when Ianto Jones walked into their bedroom, he was surprised to see Jack not there. Ever since they had set up the bedroom, Jack had been on the bed, waiting for Ianto. This was not the case however on this rainy day, and Ianto was a little disappointed. Sighing, he began to get out of his wet, three piece suit and into something more comfortable.

"I was wondering when you'd get back."

Ianto turned around, half dressed, to see Jack in the doorway of the bedroom, a grin on his face. The archivist smiled. "Rain is horrible today," he said, continuing to change. "Where were you? You're usually in here like a puppy waiting for its owner to get home."

"I wouldn't have thought myself to be _that_ predictable," Jack laughed. "I was just finishing a movie I found while going through the living room stuff earlier today."

"Oh yeah? What's that? Wait, you set up the entertainment center?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yes I set it up, like I promised I would. And I found those Avengers movies that Owen gave us-"

"Let me guess, you watched _Thor_?"

"_Captain America: The First Avenger_, though _Thor_ is probably on my 'next to watch' list."

The Welshman looked confused. "Got a thing for Captain America now? Didn't think that would be one of your favorites." He finished getting changed, putting his drenched suit on a hanger and hanging it on the shower curtain rod in the adjoining bathroom; it would have to be dry-cleaned.

The immortal shifted uncomfortably. Ianto couldn't help but notice this when he came out of the bathroom. "Jack? Are you alright?"

He didn't answer. Jack just walked over to Ianto and hugged him. Ianto became very concerned, but returned the embrace. "Jack?"

"…I didn't realize that even a fictional character could relate to me Yan," Jack finally said. "I remember all the time I spent here in Cardiff and London, but none of them do I remember better than the years during the Second World War…Estelle, meeting the Doctor and Rose, giving up being a conman, and so much more."

Ianto rubbed his back, letting him talk. Jack didn't speak much about his past, but the things being mentioned thus far were things that he already knew; the team had met Estelle during the Faeries incident, the Doctor and Rose had been brought up shortly after Jack returned from what he called 'The Year That Never Was', as well as the conman act.

"Watching that movie made me think, we really are alike," Jack said. "Both ripped from our original times to live in another one with enhancements-"

"I'd hardly call being immortal an 'enhancement'," Ianto pointed out. "If I remember correctly, Captain America was experimented on while you were not."

Jack pulled away, laughing a little. "True, I wouldn't say immortality is an enhancement, but it does come in handy sometimes."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Since I know we don't have anything in the fridge, which is it tonight? Chinese or pizza?"

Jack grinned, bringing Ianto close. "Well, I have an idea of something I want to eat first."

* * *

The two sat on Ianto's bed, eating the Chinese take-away that they managed to order several hours after Jack and Ianto had sated one hunger, curled up in the bedspread and various blankets.

As Jack was finishing his own order, Ianto got to thinking about something from their earlier conversation. "Jack? You were talking earlier about the years you remembered best. Why was World War Two one of those times?"

Jack thought about that for a minute. Talking about his timeline crossing was always strange, even to Ianto or when he rationalized it out himself. "Probably because the Doctor when I first met him as a con artist, then again with Estelle the second time I experienced it," he started. "But…there were other times that I especially remember. Other battles fought."

Ianto looked at him curiously. "…were you in other wars?"

"World War One to be specific," Jack said, putting his take-away container on the nightstand. "I joined up to run away. Got shot in the head and by the time someone found me, I had already come back to life. They thought I had just survived the bullet and was recovering. I let them think that instead of telling them I was healed already when I woke up."

"…why did you fight in the wars?" Ianto asked, putting his container on his night table as well. He wasn't really hungry anymore. "You were in Torchwood since the late 1800's, weren't you?"

Jack sighed. "…I worked off and on for Torchwood for a long time before becoming a full-time agent. But…I went AWOL several times."

"AWOL? But why?"

"…"

"Jack?"

"A lot of things happened Ianto," Jack started. "Back when Torchwood started, it was-"

"-more or less to capture the Doctor, should he ever return to the British Empire, as well as protect against alien threat," Ianto finished. "I know that part, I used to be a junior researcher at Canary Wharf. All of us knew that."

"But you don't know how brutal it really was," Jack stated. "Compared to how we act today against alien threats and how to find out about things we don't understand to what it used to be until later on in the 20th century…it was Hell back then, Yan. I left several times because I couldn't take it anymore. But one way or another, I got dragged back in, once by force, once by choice, the last because I wanted to do something better."

"So a grand total of three times," Ianto concluded. It was strange to him to hear that his lover had left, mainly because Captain Jack Harkness was not a man that generally quit when he had his teeth latched onto something (not speaking sexually, of course).

"Yes, three times," Jack said, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. "The first was when I ran off to join the first war. When I was 'recovering' from the head wound everyone thought I had, a few Torchwood agents found me from news about the miracle of not dying. They did the very old version of Retcon – and trust me, you don't want to know what they did – and dragged me back after killing me again.

"The second time I went back by choice. I joined the second war because I needed space. Torchwood had asked me to do a particularly hard case, and I just…I couldn't deal with it when I came back from finishing it. So I joined the army, though I stayed away from London so I wouldn't run into myself. After I met Estelle and the war ended, I went back to Torchwood, feeling better. "

When Jack didn't continue, Ianto decided to ask what happened. "…and the third?"

"…did you ever hear about what happened to Torchwood 3 on New Year's Eve, 1999?"

Ianto thought for a moment. "To be honest, I don't remember much about that," he finally admitted. "I remember hearing that the Cardiff department would be closed until further notice and some agents from Canary Wharf went to investigate, but I don't remember what the results were, if I was ever told."

"…I watched my leader kill himself that night."

Ianto hugged Jack as the older man looked as though he could break; tears left unshed were shining in Jack's eyes as he recalled that night. "I came back in from Weevil hunting, or something like that, I don't remember…everyone who had been on that team was dead at their desks or hanging off the railing…Alex killed them all, saying he saw what was to come-" Jack's voice hitched, and it broke Ianto's heart. He had no idea that something like that had happened so recently.

"It's alright cariad," Ianto said, leaving a kiss on Jack's forehead. "I think I understand what happened next."

Jack simply nodded into Ianto's shoulder. For a few moments, they sat like that, Jack laying his head on Ianto's shoulder, the archivist's arms around him. It was comforting to the immortal when they were entwined like this, being able to take in Ianto's scent and feel loved. When he calmed down, he spoke again.

"After that, some of the Torchwood members in London came to investigate. They named me the leader of the Cardiff division, but I wasn't ready. My colleagues weren't even in the drawers yet, Ianto, and they wanted me to lead my own team. I wasn't ready after seeing all of that. So for one year, I spent it grieving. The next, I was still grieving, but looking into candidates. That's how I found Tosh first, then Suzie, then Owen." Jack looked up at Ianto. "And then you stumbled into my life Jones, Ianto Jones." Smiling a little, Jack kissed the younger man. "And I'm glad you did."

Ianto grinned. "Stumbling as in 'into that Weevil attack and saved your life', 'snagging Myfanwy in the warehouse', or to make you coffee after you tasted mine that first time?"

"All of the above," Jack said, kissing him again. "And so much more."

* * *

This was my first Torchwood piece of fanfiction. After a bit of research for most of the second part, I think I got all the canon right, along with my own ideas.

1. Yes, Jack was in both WWI and WWII. According to TARDIS Data Core (aka a TARDIS wiki) it states, "In 1914, the Ninth Doctor met a soldier who mentioned to him that Captain Harkness had survived a bullet to the head and was recovering in the hospital. _(COMIC: The Forgotten)_"

2. According to my math, Tosh didn't join Torchwood until 2003 or so since in 2008 she tells Tommy (_TV: To the Last Man_) that she had seen him the last four years and TARDIS wiki claims she had been there five years. Owen was there for four years, while Suzie is unmentioned on when she was recruited.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed!


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